I had vinyl records and turntables with magnetic phono cartridges in the 1980s. I got rid of all of it in favor of CDs when new vinyl records became hard to find.
I was given a vinyl record "The Beatles /1967-1970" a few years ago by my daughter's boyfriend. I also inherited a collection of early 1950s jazz 45s. Last year my son-in-law gave me a Victrola record player as a gift. Victrola Eastwood Signature has an Audio-Technica AT-3600L cartridge built in. It was not as high quality as my past turntables, but it inspired me. My son-in-law and both daughters gave me vinyl LP records, some old, some new, and some 78 rpm 10 inch shellac records that were given away at a garage sale. I kept one 78 from 1946 and one from 1916 and disposed of the others because they were cracked. I bought a 3 mil stylus for the record player so I could play the 78 rpm records. I had a lot of fun.
TLS Guy inspired me to research phonograph record history and pre-RIAA phonograph record equalization.
I purchased a new Audio-Technica AT-LPW30TK turntable and recently upgraded the cartridge with an AT-VMN95EN stylus. It isn't as good as the best turntable and cartridge I had in the 1980s, but it is very close and I enjoy it very much. I have CDs and high resolution downloads, but playing old school records is very fun. I am learning where the vinyl record shops are in my area.
Glad to know you are having fun. I am a little older than you. The LP came out in the US in 1948. They arrived in the UK two or three years later and were slow to catch on largely due to a lack of playing equipment. I don't have any of my own 78 collection. However, for reasons I can't entirely fathom, I bought a large collection of pre WW II 78s from the widow of a serious collector who had looked after them. For some unknown reason I had already had my Decca ffss MK II head converted from LP to 78 when I bought my ffss H4E. The styli in those are not user replaceable. I already had the Quad 22 preamp which had all the codes, which I bought in 1966.
As many members will know, I confess to being a bit of a hoarder. In my defense though at least 90% of the hoard is connected and working, apart from my parts hoard which is extensive, much to my wife's disgust.
In any event it makes part of my system a working museum of great interest to visitors as it is a working museum with items working as they should.
I have all my large collection of LPs and some tapes, reel to reel mainly. This collection has items going back 69 years now. I still have the first LP I bought with my allowance. If I remember correctly it cost 10 shillings and six pence. So that was a few weeks of allowance saving back then.
This is that LP on one of my turntables.
That disc was bought 69 years ago.
One of the interesting aspects of a collection that spans almost a century now, is seeing and understanding how performance practices have changed so radically over the years.
Anyhow have fun with your system.
